It is amazing, how the internet manages you to keep you in contact with the very best people you could find, but at the same time it is goddamn awful to see how you can find people assuming they are absolutely right, sadly but true.
I mean there is all sorts of elitists bashing their opinions, stating how much they know and how superior their
technique is, the best examples I can name
the profoto elitist yeah those who swear by profoto gear and how they are the ultimate lighting system above all, and how good they are because they have it... and then you see them using el cheapofront focusing sigma lenses -rstcg knows what I mean
-... For starters the profoto line amuses me at best, starting by how cheapie-cheap are their reflectors (grid and zoom) that at are malleable , yes fucking malleable, look at those fuckers bad and they will bend.... how can a $4,500 lighting system can afford to use malleable reflectors for their strobes is at best funny, yet you don't see any profoto elitist mention it, neither do they mention that their D4 have at least a 500 K difference from shot to shot when going in to the lowest output power settings
and there it ends the claimed constant color technology they have... their durability? well they claim it will last forever even with abuse, but I have seen a dumb-dumb throw a head for a profoto 7b with a soft and gentle blow to the concrete -an accident- and then not working anymore.. wait... isn't that what other strobes do when they fall too?? but hey.. they are mighty awesome cuz they have profoto
the strobist elitist note: this by no means is something that David Hobby the creator of the strobist blog has said, or represent the opinions of all people in the strobist pool, this is what a group of opinionated/gearheads/un experienced people in the strobist pool sayYes in the other side of the spectrum exist a bunch of people that have learned from the strobist blog that swear by their bones that the using hot shoe strobes is the absolute way of shooting and spending more money in studio strobes is just plain idiotic and a waste of money, but there is a limit on what you can do with hot shoe strobes, they are cool, they work but there will be things you won't be able to do and that if you work commercially your client will demand, there is a limit to what a 60WS strobe can do. But hey they claim absolute here like the profoto gang
The common denominator between the two: they claim they have the ultimate solution to all the problems, needs, etc... but I find myself in middle ground thinking "Horses for courses", you can't claim absolutes in this issue, using hot shoe strobes is a cheap way to get a lighting gear and learning and you can pull lots of stuff with it and even work with them, but there will be a limit on what you will be able to do with them and certainly you may require later to buy studio strobes because of this limit, and then the profoto gang has a big problem in their argument... while profoto is the most rented equipment it isn't the absolute best, You have Comet, Elinchrom, Broncolor, Hensel, etc and they are all good and to tell you the truth somewhat better than it, from the cheap side you have Alienbees/White lightining/Zeuss, Interfit, Elinchroms D-lite (newer models will come with fan cooling) and they are all good with plenty of modifiers very durable, good color and exposure consistency -not like their 4 figures counterparts but if you shoot raw or do custom WB (like you should anyways) you can survive-, what is the difference? simple budget of the photographer get what you can and live happily and please don't impose your absolutes. If you need 2400 WS go for them, if You don't have the budget then get the best you can and live happily. And please don't try to
convince people, instead
recommend it isn't the same to be pushy than to be helpful.
Then we have the "if it isn't what I use then it must be crap"
Wait what the fuck?? this happens the most with all the camera brands "loyal fan boys", they swear that the other camera brands are totally and uber crap, they swear that they won't "switch", blah, blah, blah, blah but.... One thing is to analyze a system -checking lens availabilty, diversity and price for example- another one is to say that "'cause I use X brand then Y brand is crap"... as an example I see lots of D3 and 1D MKIII (But not limited to then you have the K20D, the A700, D300, 40D users too) in this debate, and it is at best silly, these fanboys feel "attacked" when a better feature pops in the other brand... sincerely If I needed to switch to Canon I would switch and without doubt, if I were a Canon user but needed to switch to Nikon I would do it without a doubt, I as a person am not defined by the brand I use, I use the brand and the model of camera that:
1) My money allows
2) Has the features and lenses that I need.
3) I feel comfortable in my hands.
I really don't care which camera you are using, show me your photos and how good they are! that's what I want to see, cool friggin photos
.
Then we have the "all must be shot in (film, digital, MF, LF) and I mean ALL"... OK..... the first problem I see is that again you can't claim absolutes, as an example a fine artist finds that for his landscapes MF or LF is better and they
prefer film, in my case clients don't want to wait for developing, scanning, etc. they want the photos ASAP, there will be magazines in first world countries that they demand digital 35mm full frame or digital MF gear for the photoshoot.... this means you go with the needs of your clients and the market sector you have decided to attend, It is ridiculous that I buy a Hasselblad H3D II with the 39 mpx back... because my clients don't have the budget to cover the costs of shooting with such camera.... Hola! I live in the 3rd world
so there isn't an absolute medium, there are lots of mediums that are designed to address different needs, choose the one that covers your needs and the market you are servicing needs, it is cool that a full frame camera exists but hey I don't have the money to buy it again Hola I am from a 3rd world country and my clients are too
.
Brick wallers! X camera/lens sucks/is the best because Imatest shows that they are the best: A controlled environment test can give you an
idea of how a lens or camera behaves, but you can't use this as a way to change experimenting yourself with the camera to say "it sucks or it is good" as an example Popphoto made the review of the Tokina 50-135mm f/2.8 and the Sigma 50-150mm f/2.8 but it seems their tests are limited to labs and controlled environments, other reviews while they do all sorts of lab tests, they go out with the lenses and shoot in real life, because real life isn't a controlled environment, and it was these people that found the real problems behind the 50-135mm f/2.8 and 50-150mm f/2.8 and the flaws they have in real life and reported.... (back focusing, front focusing, heavy flare, etc) it is amazing when you see someone talking about a D80 vs D200 discussion -silly by all means if you really want to know and you live in the USA rent them! or go to a brick and mortar store to try them!- but they haven't used either camera at all
..... how can you tell me that the Nissan Sentra sucks if you haven't used it and you have only have driven a Toyota Corolla? silly people
And where is this rant headed: Your gear and the brand stamped on it doesn't define you as a photographer, it is only a
TOOL to be used in what you do, you get what you need based on your needs (and if you work do it also based on the needs of your clients, it would be silly to get an H3D and a Broncolor lighting set if I can't justify the expenses in business sense), be it as hobbyist or be it as a professional, most importantly your gear doesn't define how good or bad you are as a photographer, your eyes, how you compose, which angle you use, how you do your lighting, etc defines how good you are.
Instead of rambling on blogs, forums, etc how superior your gear is and how awesome you are as a photographer because you have x brand of gear, spend more time taking photos and honing your skills!!! Stop claiming absolutes, what works for you, won't work for other people, different products for different needs, and most of all stop the frigging egocentric elitism that only shows that you back up your lack of talent behind how much you spend on you gear or how cool you are because you do things in a certain way.
/rant
Be well
and best wishes
Edua
